Official UK procurement notice
Project VENTURE · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionProject VENTURE for the provision of future gliding equipment and services.
Gliding provides a distinctive capability as the unique selling point that inspires and attracts young people to join the RAF Air Cadets, whilst contributing significantly towards interest in a career in the Royal Air Force (RAF). Project VENTURE will deliver capability based around the current training glider; a conventional tandem-seat sailplane with high-performance soaring and aerobatic capability. This will be supported by new or refurbished equipment, robust core services, provision of spares, and post design services. Support services will include winch maintenance, aerotow capability, glider maintenance and engineering, managing safety equipment, and associated services delivered through Volunteer Gliding Schools at 10 permanent sites across the UK.
The project’s vision is for a more modern and efficient gliding capability that is safely delivered across multiple sites, and which demonstrates the RAF ethos, so that gliding contributes significantly towards inspiring and attracting a broader cross-section of air-minded young people to join Defence.
CPV: Gliders · Repair, maintenance and associated services related to aircraft, railways, roads and marine equipment
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Ministry of Defence buys Balloons, dirigibles and other non-powered aircraft (CPV 3472), and who usually turns up
Ministry of Defence’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Balloons, dirigibles and other non-powered aircraft (CPV 3472) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in South East England (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside South East England.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 24 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid25% / 22%
2–350% / 52%
4–625% / 19%
7+0% / 7%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate61% / 64%
Within ±2%23% / 27%
Above estimate16% / 9%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 3472Published estimate£50m
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 27 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid22%
2–352%
4–619%
7+7%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Defence & security
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 20 Jul 2026, 10:42 BST
- Last source update
- 9 Sept 2026, 16:36 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-085542- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ce8bFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
20 Jul 2026 → 1 Apr 2028 · 4 dates- Planning notice published93 days ago20 Jul 2026, 10:42 BST
- Latest notice published42 days ago9 Sept 2026, 16:36 BST
- Market engagement26 days ago25 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
Following the Request for Information (RFI) published on 20th July 2026, the Authority is pleased to announce an Industry Day for Project VENTURE taking place at RAF Syerston Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG23 5NN on 06 October 2026 from 10:00 to 15:00 hrs. The event will provide industry representatives with an opportunity to engage with the project team and view the facilities and infrastructure used to deliver the current Contract. The programme for the day will focus on a variety of topics and will inform the development of the potential solution and requirements and will comprise:
MOD / Supplier Introductions
Rationale and purpose of engagement
Advise the Aerospace/Defence Industry that MOD is reviewing the options for the new project VENTURE procurement
VENTURE Project Brief
Commercial Overview
Exploration of current and future capabilities
Tour of the facilities and infrastructure used to deliver the current Contract.
Question and Answer session (Q&A)
1-2-1 engagement with the project team
To register your attendance, please send a confirmation email with Project VENTURE in the subject title to [email protected] by 17:00 on 25 September 2026. Please include the following as part of your response:
- Full Name.
- Company Name.
- Names, role names, and Email addresses of up to two (2) attendees. (Attendees are limited to a maximum of two (2) representatives per supplier. Any attendees over the two permitted shall be denied access to the event).
- Please notify us if you wish to hold a 1-2-1 session with the project team. (please note sessions may need to be held virtually following the Industry Day due to time and capacity).
When registering for the opportunity to attend, you will be required to meet one of the criteria below:
- You must have within the last 3 years delivered or are in the process of delivering a UK MOD defence Contract encompassing defence equipment or services with a minimum value of £5M.
or
- Your organisation must have provided and sold gliding services or equipment to organisations within the last 12 months.
Travel and subsistence costs as a result of attending the Project VENTURE Industry Day or any costs relating to the preparation and submission of a response incurred are the sole responsibility of the respondent. The Authority shall not be liable to reimburse any costs of any parties who respond to this notice or register any interest in this or for further market engagements.
Registration for the event will close on 25 September 2026 at 17:00 hrs.
Please note that all information on the day will be held at OFFICIAL level.
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Contract starts1 Apr 2028, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 20 Jul 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Jul 2026, 10:42 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published11 Aug 2026, 16:16 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published9 Sept 2026, 16:36 BSTUK2
- Published value published: £50,000,0009 Sept 2026, 16:36 BST
Published amendments (1)
A previous UK2 notice was published to invite responses to an RFI. The notice was changed to reflect the next stages of market engagement and invite suppliers to an Industry Day and update the market on estimated contract values and contract duration.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender